July 09, 2008	Wednesday	Rajab 5, 1429

ISLAMABAD, July 8: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi has said it is wrong to say that madressahs are hubs of terrorism or their students were involved in terrorist activities.

“We are a peace-loving nation and cannot afford to give guns to our children. Rather we want to equip them with modern knowledge and want to see pen in their hands,” the adviser said during a meeting on Tuesday with a group of journalists from Sudan.

He rejected a perception that reforms in madressah education were being carried out under foreign pressure. He said that changes in the education system were aimed at imparting quality education and enabling seminary students to compete for jobs in public and private sectors. He said the government would not accept any foreign assistance for madressah education reforms.

Mr Kazmi said that minorities in Pakistan enjoyed all rights granted by Islam and enshrined in the Constitution and there was no discrimination on the basis of religion.

He said Pakistan and Sudan enjoyed brotherly relations and the exchange of delegations would further strengthen these ties.

Earlier, Secretary of the Religious Affairs Ministry Wakil Ahmad Khan briefed the Sudanese journalists on the structure and working of his ministry.

He said there were 15,000 registered madressahs in the country, providing free education to poor students.

He said the main purpose of madressah education reforms was to prepare the students to cope with the challenges of the modern world and compete with others for jobs in public and private sectors.